The Anambra State Police Command has confirmed the killing of five persons in Sunday’s attack at a nightclub in Oba in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, CP Aderemi Adeoye, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday, December 12, in Awka.
Adeoye stated that the victims included two members of a local vigilance group, a bouncer, and two fun seekers. He added that the owner of the club was also abducted by the attackers.
The CP described the incident as unfortunate and vowed to hunt down the perpetrators.
“We got a distress call at about 2 am, Monday, the DPO Oba Division led police officers and members of the local vigilance group to the scene, but the attackers had already fled the scene,” he said.
“The police Rapid Response Squad from Awkuzu was on patrol in the area from 6 pm, to midnight before moving to other parts of the state and the incident happened after the team left the area.
“Five persons were killed, including two vigilance group members, one bouncer, and two clubbers. The owner of the hotel was abducted in the process,” he said.
Adeoye said that the police are yet to arrest culprits, adding that investigations had commenced to unravel the attackers.
“We have seen a pattern; the gang was responsible for a similar incident where the victim’s body was dismembered about two weeks ago in Ihiala.
“We have an idea of the axis they are operating from, we are going to crack them down, no arrest has been made and investigation is ongoing.
“Oba has always been a flashpoint because of the thriving nightlife, lots of hotels, and strategically located, so we intend to deploy additional assets and personnel to that axis, especially this yuletide, to make sure criminals do not make life miserable for people.
“’The decay in values is not strange to the people but unfortunately, we have to live with the consequences, this is one of the reasons why the public enlightenment agencies were created. Community leaders and religious leaders should step up the campaign against immorality, unnecessary shows of affluence, and criminality.
“Investigation has shown that most of the money you see on display in night clubs is not legitimately earned, most are proceeds of crime, so we all have work to do, a law enforcement agency, we will continue to do our part,” he added.
Mweanwhile, the bouncer killed in the attack has been identified as Olisa.
A native doctor, Mr Chidozie Nwangu, also known as ‘Akwa Okuko tiwara aki’ was kidnapped in his hotel room in Oba in July in a similar attack which resulted in the killing of two security guards.
